Vertieres, Haiti (1803 AD) The Battle of Vertieres the final engagement of the Haitian Revolution which had lasted on and off for over a decade. Inspired by the success of the colonists in the American Revolution, the Haitian War of Independence was the second successful revolt in the New World against a major European power. It is also believed to be the first time in … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF HINGAKAKA (HINGAKAKA BATTLEFIELD)
Ohaupo, New Zealand (c. 1803 AD) The Battle of Hingakaka is claimed to have been the largest battle ever fought in New Zealand. It may also have been one of the last great battles in world history that did not see significant usage of gunpowder firearms or other modern weapons. Essentially an intertribal conflict among the Maori, the details of Hingakaka are surprisingly … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF YORKTOWN (YORKTOWN BATTLEFIELD)
Yorktown, Virginia (1781 AD) The Siege of Yorktown in the Autumn of 1781 was the last stand of the main British army in the colonies during the American Revolutionary War. The American and French army at the battle was the largest assembled during the war, and the joint land and naval force effort was one of the greatest of the Colonial era. It was also one of the greatest … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF LEXINGTON AND CONCORD (LEXINGTON AND CONCORD BATTLEFIELD)
Lexington, Massachusetts (1775 AD) The Battle of Lexington and Concord, fought between a force of British regulars and Massachusetts militiamen, was the first engagement of the American Revolution. What began as a raid on local stores of weapons and military supplies became a rout as thousands of irregular colonial forces turned out to harass the British troops as they … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM (PLAINS OF ABRAHAM BATTLEFIELD)
Quebec City, Canada (1759 AD) The Battle of the Plains of Abraham was the decisive engagement of the Seven Years War in North America (known locally as the French and Indian War). Although not the largest battle of the war, it led directly to the fall of Quebec, effectively putting an end to the French colony in Canada and consequently the complete domination of North America … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF PLASSEY (PLASSEY BATTLEFIELD)
Palashi, India (1757 AD) The Battle of Plassey was one of the defining engagements of the Colonial era in Asia. An extension of the Seven Years War that was then raging in Europe and the Americas, it pitted the forces of the British East India Company against both indigenous rulers as well as their French rivals. In some ways it marked the end of the early stages which had … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF BLENHEIM (BLENHEIM BATTLEFIELD)
Blindheim, Germany (1704 AD) The Battle of Blenheim was one of the most important, if not decisive, battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. It was also the largest military engagement in Central Europe between the Thirty Years War and the Napoleanic Wars. Essentially a showdown between the French and the Hapsburgs for influence in the lands of the Holy Roman Empire, it … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF MBWILA (MBWILA BATTLEFIELD)
Mbwila, Angola (1665 AD) During the 16th and 17th centuries, the relatively small European territories in Africa escaped the wars and bloodshed that ravaged the Americas and during the colonial era. One of the few major exceptions was the Battle of Mbwila, probably the largest battle to take place in Sub-Saharan Africa before the various Boer and Zulu wars of the 19th … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF NASEBY (NASEBY BATTLEFIELD)
Naseby, England (1645 AD) The Battle of Naseby was the most important engagement of the English Civil Wars, and the first truly great victory of a rebellion against an entrenched royal government in post-medieval Europe. Naseby ultimately led to the overthrow of King Charles I and the House of Stuart, as well as the rise of the Parliament and the House of Commons as the key … [Read more...]
BATTLES OF NORDLINGEN (NORDLINGEN BATTLEFIELD)
Nordlingen, Germany (1634 & 1645 AD) Two of the most important and bloodiest battles of the Thirty Years War took place at Nordlingen in Southern Germany. The first battle in 1634 was a decisive Catholic victory which avenged the battles of Breitenfeld and Lutzen a few years earlier. It also led directly to the French intervention on the side of the Protestants. The … [Read more...]
